Award-winning lecture series comes to Midland

Midland Daily News

Published
1:35 am EST, Thursday, December 27, 2018

The January Series of Calvin College is coming to Midland. From Jan. 3 through Jan. 23, Midland Reformed Church will be one of more than 50 remote webcast locations worldwide to broadcast one of the nation's leading lecture and cultural arts series.

The 2019 January Series features a lineup of experts, including a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a New York Times best-selling author, and a multiple Oscar and Emmy-nominated costume designer, to name a few.

The 15 speakers will offer informed perspectives on a wide range of today's most relevant topics, including polarization in politics, immigration, sexual abuse, climate justice, and race and America, among many others.

"What I love about our audience each year is they come wanting to learn, wanting to be better global citizens. And they are willing to listen to some new ideas and consider them, and then find ways to act on what they've heard," said Kristi Potter, director of the January Series. "And what they can trust the series to deliver is speakers who have really thought through their material and are trying to make the world a better place by what they are studying, what they are doing, what they are researching and talking about."

Some of the notable presenters who will take the stage in 2019 include:

• Rachael Denhollander, an advocate and educator who became known internationally in 2018 as the first woman to file a police report and speak publicly against Larry Nassar. This year, she was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World.

• Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times and winner of two Pulitzer Prizes in his 30 years of covering the world.

• Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and widely regarded as a groundbreaking and transformational leader who elevated the public role of the Irish presidency, helping to shape modern Ireland in a period of rapid and unprecedented economic growth. Following her tenure as president, Robinson went on to serve as the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

• Barbara Pierce Bush, daughter of former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, co-founder of Global Health Corps, and co-author of "Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life."

The January Series lectures will be video streamed live at Midland Reformed Church, 1100 N. Saginaw Road, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The lectures are free and open to the public.

For more information about the January Series, contact Cheryl Heal at office@MidlandReformed.org or at 989-835-4000.